Government invests £200M in technology centres
More than £200m will be invested by the Government in a network of elite Technology and Innovation Centres to drive growth in the UK's most high-tech industries
The centres will be based on the models proposed by James Dyson and Hermann Hauser and will bridge the gap between universities and businesses, helping to take ideas from the drawing board to the market place. The network will be established and overseen by the Technology Strategy Board.
The new centres will help businesses:
- Access equipment and expertise that would otherwise be out of reach.
- Allow them to conduct their own in-house research & development.
- Access new funding streams.
- Highlight the potential of emerging technologies.
Each centre will focus on a specific technology where there is a potentially large global market and a significant UK capability. Areas identified as possibilities by Hermann Hauser included plastic electronics, regenerative medicine and high value manufacturing.
Business secretary Vince Cable said:
“We need to do more to ensure the UK benefits from its world-class research.
“High-tech industries are the future of the British economy. Growing sectors that exploit these new and emerging technologies will help re-balance the economy and provide the highly skilled, well-paid jobs we need.
“Thanks to this major investment, British companies will be at the forefront of innovation.”
LINKS
Hermann Hauser’s review on technology centres in the UK
James Dyson’s review, Ingenious Britain: Making the UK the leading high tech exporter in Europe